Gardening

Venture Productions, Inc. – Gardening Program History

Venture Productions, Inc. started a gardening program in the spring of 2008. This program was collaborated between the OSU Master Gardeners and the Adult Workshop. The individuals grew corn, tomatoes, and some flowers. Everything grown that year was used for the benefit of the workshop and served through our Food Service Program. In the spring of 2009, we had twenty-five participants and a dozen community volunteers coming to the workshop twice a week to teach skills. Wal-Mart awarded us with a $2,000 grant which allowed us to purchased rubber boots, gloves, garden hoes and other small tools, seed and fertilizer. The garden expanded to corn, tomatoes, peppers, flowers, broom corn, gourds, and pumpkins. A Farmer’s Market was started in the fall, and we sold all of our produce in one day!

2010 brought even bigger and better things to Venture Productions. With thirty individuals signed up for the gardening program, the Adams CBDD approved a two-tiered landscaping area to be constructed behind the workshop. This allowed for 1,000 square feet of planting area and made the garden accessible to our disabled individuals. The Farmer’s Market was operated from July-October on Tuesdays and Fridays. A grant was written by Karma Points in September for the construction of a Greenhouse through the Attorney General’s Office. Venture Productions was notified in November that the grant was approved. In the spring of 2011, the Greenhouse was completed behind Venture Productions. We had missed the plant growing season in our new Greenhouse but were able to continue planting in our garden plots and two-tiered beds. With the help of the Adams County Herb Guild, a beautiful herb garden was planted and volunteers taught skills to our individuals for cutting the herbs, cooking with the herbs, and selling the herbs. We maintained a Farmer’s Market two days per week at the workshop and were able to purchase a lot of extra produce from local growers. Community participation has been the key to our successful gardening program. We have had over two dozen volunteers from the Master Gardeners, Herb Guild, along with family members, all taking time to teach, grow, harvest, and sell our produce.

2012 brought the hiring of a Gardening Supervisor. Alan Ward joined our agency to organize, teach, market, and most importantly grow our gardening program into something bigger and better than ever before. Mr. Ward was able to network with local growers, and Venture Productions was able to purchase locally grown honey and pure maple syrup. We had a successful flower sale and an entire summer and fall of great produce, fall mums, and pumpkins. GE Community Service Fund dollars helped us to purchase many more needed supplies. Mr. Ward decided to continue his position for the 2013 season, and Liz Lafferty decided it was time to make her rolling Farmer’s Market dream become a reality. With the approval from the Adams CBDD, Venture Productions purchased the out-of-service bus and the coordination began to turn the school bus into a rolling produce stand. Networking led to a beautiful base coat of paint being applied to the bus by Jason Clark; the artist Erika Hutchins was referred by the Economic Director, Holly Johnson; and the inside of the bus was transformed by our Maintenance Supervisor, Charlie Little.